Budget wedding help!

[Hoochyhoo]

Hiya,
Me and my other half are planning to get married in July after it being postponed twice already due to covid.
So far
I’ve got my dress
Booked the church
Booked a singer
Paid a deposit for someone to do a buffet
And pencilled in a local football club for the evening do but feel like I’m really behind!
Also money is a factor.

We have 3 children and just really wanna get married now but it’s on a really tight budget.

Feeling stressed with everything I need to sort….. clothes for the kids, flowers decoration for the venue etc etc the list goes on.

If you had a budget wedding how much did you spend and how did you keep the costs so low?

We really aren’t bothered about a fancy wedding and just want it to be a fun day of love and laughter really 💖
Any tips would be appreciated.

⭐️

Agree with other posters there are some easy items to cut -

Get your own flowers (we bought a bundle from a florist loose and arranged in recycled jars - cost us about £50-£100)

Playlist on iPad or similar rather than DJ.

Make your own cupcakes and arrange on a cake stand rather than pay for a cake.

Second hand or cheap clothes for the kids.

Definitely no favours (Though I made little gingerbread people with name labels which the kids loved)

If you search wedding decorations - job lot on eBay there’s tonnes of stuff really cheap.

When it comes to flowers, go to a lovely florist and order a hand tied bouquet. Whatever you do, don’t mention the word wedding as they’ll hike up the price.

Why do you need a singer and a DJ?

I got married in a castle and had reception in medieval banquetting hall. I kept price low by hiring venue for reception and mobile caterers who cooked at venue separately. Many of the flowers for tables came from my Mum's garden. I took a 3 week flower arranging course and my sister's and I made all of the large floral displays for castle. Check out local college for a media student who will video record your wedding for a good price. You might find a photography student too who will do photos for a good price. I made bridesmaids head dresses with fresh flowers. I loved doing them. Store in fridge.

Where in country are you. I have noted the mobile caterers I used 15 years ago are still offering a good price. So much cheaper than the fixed packages. I got my wedding cake from M&S and sponge from Sainsbury's and had photo of castle printed on top. Much cheaper than using a cake shop.

Ask the football club what they have, I work part time at the football club where I had my reception so used all sorts of bits and pieces that I knew where lying around which had I booked privately I wouldn't have necessarily thought about. E.g. have they already got table cloths, and some decorations, they are almost certain to have decent speakers to run music through, they may have disco lights, ours has a box of chair covers and fairy lights etc. The football club will also almost definitely know who the best most cost effective local DJs are.

Didn’t have cars, bridesmaids or an evening do.

Had 40 guests. Made our own invitations, with help from DH and FIL. DM and MIL made the wedding cake (tier each)

We weren’t on a budget as such, just wanted a simple and personal wedding.

Thank you all so much for your tips and help.

I’ve had a look online and could potientally get the kids clothes for under £100 for the 3 of them.

Contacted a local rugby club and they said they would do the venue hire for free as the bar will be open and also the guy who runs the club as offered to do the music for £80.
Spoken to the singer and asked how much it would be for her to just sing in the evening do instead of the evening and the day. She’s quoted £150 for two 45 mins sessions which is better (my parents have offered to pay for the singer as they know how much I love music! ⭐️😎)

Buffet around £500 which caters for around 120 people tho we haven’t done our list yet so it could be less than this.

Me and OH have kept a load of glass jars & ordered some burlap with lace online tonight fo decorate them with to either put cheap flowers in on the tables at the evening do or battery operated tea lights. We are gonna look at getting banquet roll to put over the tables some burlap down the middle. Get some just married balloons and a few rustic style buntings etc.

He needs to get his suit but has his shoes and ring ready lol. I still need to find a ring but happy to just have a sterling silver one or something, don’t want anything flash.

Gonna ring the vicar tomorrow to double check on the price of the church, tbh it’s such a pretty church I don’t think it needs any decoration.

(Will try and attach a photo of the church) ⛪️

Some photos of the church 😍

Will the church have flowers in it anyway?

I organised my whole wedding in 3mths, so its certainly possible! It was 10yrs ago, so prices not relevant now. Got married on a Sunday which was cheaper for some suppliers.

Write a list of everything you need doing. Could any family/friends help with finding dressing, shoes or other bits? Even if they are just looking online for sales and to save you time?

• Pew ends were a waste of time and money
• Friend did my make-up. I think she'd been on a MAC course
• Aunt made my cake and mum decorated it. Mum also did all the bouquets. She'd studied both before having kids and did a brilliant job
• I bought tall vases and table mirrors from ebay and my mum/aunt made up the table centres on the day with flowers we'd bought the day before from a large flower market
• I had smaller glasses I'd bought for about 20p each from a charity shop and had tealights in those
• Don't bother with chair covers. Once everyone is sat down, coats and bags will cover the back of the chairs so not needed IMO

If having a buffet, just make sure there is enough food. Friends wedding was finger food, hor d'oeuvers, canapes etc and despite ordering twice the recommended amount, people were starving and we had to get food on the way home.

@toomuchlaundry

Will the church have flowers in it anyway?

Not sure will ask the vicar though. I think it’s pretty as it is 😍

This is our local registry office room ( seats were all over the place because of social distancing etc at the time).

It’s SO easy to get sucked into all the trappings of a wedding that you really don’t need.
You don’t need a singer. You don’t need flowers. Or a DJ.

The church looks beautiful- you don’t need any flowers, let that beautiful place speak for itself.
You don’t really need a singer or a DJ, just use Spotify and create a playlist.
You don’t need an expensive wedding cake. My mum baked mine.
You probably do need a nice dress and it’s not a bad idea to have a buffet to feed people! Other than that, keep everything to a bare minimum if you are concerned about costs - the amount you spend on your wedding day in no way reflects the strength or likelihood of your marriage being successful. It really is just one day.